This invention concerns the use of light to stimulate a photo-endocrine response within the human optic-endocrine axis. This response may be used to treat numerous conditions, such as Seasonal Affective Disorder, Jet Lag, and many other conditions now believed to respond to light therapy. These conditions are thought to involve a failure of person's body to maintain a proper circadian rhythm which is regulated by daily exposure of the retinas to light of a specific color wavelength range. This failure can cause undesirable mood disorders and many other physical conditions. Various devices have been developed for treating these conditions, including light boxes before which a person stands for particular time periods on a daily basis.
The desirability of allowing a user to move about and conduct normal activities while receiving treatment has led to the development of portable devices such as light sources mounted to the underside of the bill of a cap as described and claimed in the present inventor's prior U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,447,528 and 5,293,375. Other devices include mounting of light sources to spectacle frames such as shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,350,275; 5,923,398; and 6,235,046, and other head mounted light sources such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 6,053,936.
It is the object of the present invention to provide such a device which further reduces the interference such treatment imposes on the normal activities of a person being treated.